Fly fishing spots around Eugene, Oregon?

[sambone]

Im just learning how to start fly fishing, been going out to armitage the last couple nights to practice some basic techniques with a single dry and dry dropper rig to see if i can get some strikes. Tonight was the first night i really tried to fish but it was too windy and the fish werent that active . I scouted it out the night before and there was no wind and lots of fish were all over the place .The gates to the park close at dusk so you have to leave right before prime fishing time which is really annoying to have to think about when youre out there. Anyone got good public spots around eugene on the willamette for fly fishing? I havent tried any spots on the willamette yet. I have some chubby chernobyls, possie buggers, and a elk hair caddis fly to play around with. The guys at the fly shop in town said those are some good ones for my basic setup on the mckenzie, im guessing theyre good for the willamette too?

 

[fishpro123]

Park on Coburg Road across he river from Armitage Park. No gates to worry about. Fish till dark. Try the boat launch areas on the McKenzie in the north part of Springfield. Use google maps to locate public access in both rivers near town.

 

[maxwyatt]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. You can take Armitage rd from North Game Farm Rd and park directly under the Freeway. There's good access there. Also look at Deadmond Ferry rd near RiverBend. I've had moderate success at each location.

 

[jamisonace]

Harvest Lane in Springfield is my favorite bank spot.

 

[SciFly]

If you just want to catch fish on a fly and don't care what's tugging...think about a simple Clouser Minnow in olive over white. The smallmouth on the Willamette crush that fly. Going sub-surface you no longer have to wait for a rise or a hatch to get action all day, rain or blazing heat. Obviously there will be variations to the bite, like any fishing, but you won't be a one-trick pony...unless you only have an olive over white Clouser.

 

[maxwyatt]

I'm curious, how do you fish the Clouser? Strip it in like a streamer or let it sink and pull it in a few inches at a time? BTW, I haven't caught a smallmouth this far up river (Eugene). How far down would one need to go to start finding them? Harrisburg?

 

[SciFly]

I'm curious, how do you fish the Clouser? Strip it in like a streamer or let it sink and pull it in a few inches at a time? BTW, I haven't caught a smallmouth this far up river (Eugene). How far down would one need to go to start finding them? Harrisburg?

Use a snappy one-foot strip, where you flick your wrist quickly, then the pause in between strips as you reach for new line. You could count in your head "Thousand one, thousand two..." with the strip being every number and the pause being "thousand". The mass of the Clouser allows it to briefly accelerate forward and up, followed by a noticeable slow down and drop. They take on the drop and you feel them on the strip. Every now and then they will crush it on a drive-by and your line with slip through your rod fingers as your stripping hand had released line and is advancing to re-grip. Find a rhythm that works. Most importantly, keep changing the rhythm until you start getting hit. Focus on that retrieve. Maybe it's a quick three strips with a pause, maybe it's a steady strip-pause with a two-foot strip and slightly longer pause (include unlimited variations). First one-foot variation is my most productive. After many trips on many days, you will eventually find the mojo that works for you. My go-to line is an Intermediate sink (Cortland Camo rocks!) for surface to about 7 feet. If I'm fishing anything deeper than about 7 feet I also have a heavy shooting head Type VI that can get me down to the 30 foot range if necessary, although I don't often have the patience to wait for the drop to that depth . Vary the speed to maintain a depth once you figure out where the vegetation layer is, that's where the most common ambushes occur. Clousers in the 2.5--3 inch range seem to bring me the most action.

As far as trout go, I've caught 10 inchers to many fish over 10 pounds on that same size fly. Attached a little eye-candy. Everyone appreciates proof.
Tight lines!

 

[SciFly]

Forgot to answer the "where?" question. I have only been in Oregon for two years and in that time have only thrown for smallies on the Willy through Salem ( from right downtown to the Wheatland Ferry), and then on/near the Columbia in the Hood River area. Heard they are thick at least up through Corvalis, but no personal experience with that.

 

[maxwyatt]

@SciFly Thanks for the additional info. I'll definitely give it a shot

 

[Bandrew]

If you just want to catch fish on a fly and don't care what's tugging...think about a simple Clouser Minnow in olive over white. The smallmouth on the Willamette crush that fly. Going sub-surface you no longer have to wait for a rise or a hatch to get action all day, rain or blazing heat. Obviously there will be variations to the bite, like any fishing, but you won't be a one-trick pony...unless you only have an olive over white Clouser.

Are there small mouth bass in the Willamette in Eugene?

 

[maxwyatt]

I've caught trout and pike minnows in the Willamette in Eugene, but never bass. I understand there are bass in the Alton Baker canal/pond, but I haven't made an effort. The river transitions between Eugene and Corvallis where it becomes more of a warm water fishery.

 

[fishpro123]

I have never turned up any smallies in the Willamette near Eugene, and have fished all the way down to Irish Bend. Pikeminnow, yes, trout, yes, whitefish, yes, steelhead, yes, but never smallies.

 

[jamisonace]

I've caught smallies off the D-street ramp.

 

[SciFly]

Floating in my pontoon from downtown Salem to the Wheatland Ferry I have landed smallies, largemouth, pikeminnow, perch, bluegill and crappie. Mostly smallies and pikeminnow with a fair number of crappie. All on the fly, and all on some version of my olive over either white or gold, with flash in the middle, Clouser style. Had a 14" smallie on one day in a very deep side pool. Out of the dark came the most ENORMOUS largemouth I have ever seen in my life. Well over twice the length of the smallie. Big enough to take him down in one bit. I let the smallie dart back and forth just past my feet so I could watch this brute. He really thought about it but eventually slipped back into the depths. I was sweating, heart pounding, speachless. Freakish fish. I will not defile his memory with an estimate of weight...but he was F*****G HUGE. Eleven-thousand two-hundred and seventy-seven casts later I moved on down the river empty handed (almost). Still have the vision scorched in my brain. Dream material.